A Quarter-Mile at A Time
by NyxPonderosa
Summary: In my family we live our lives a quarter-mile at a time. Nothing else matters. Not the mortgage, not the store, not the garage, nothing. For those 10 seconds or less… we're free. My name is Nicoletta Toretto, and in less than it takes to race a quarter-mile, my whole life changes and heads down a road I never saw coming.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Thank-you all for taking the time to read this, I just want to say that I do not own the Fast and Furious franchise, but I am playing around in the sandbox. Any characters you do not recognize are my creation. Please feel free to review, and any questions I will do my best to answer. I want to let you all know ahead of time that this takes place before **The Fast and The Furious**, and may lead into the movie that we all love.

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AS THE SUN SLOWLY rose up over the Los Angeles' sky line, my room started to lighten up, not to mention the chaos that was forming outside my bedroom door. Sighing I opened my eyes and sat up in bed, just as a bang sounded – a fist hitting my bedroom door.

"Rise and shine!" My twin brother's voice sounded from the other side of my door.

"I'm up!" I shouted back, knowing that if I didn't get out of bed, I was about to be drug out. And as if my brother was reading my mind, to door opened as my bare feet hit the floor. Before he had a chance to say anything, I had grabbed my pillow and flung it at the door, hitting him in the face.

"For that, you're riding in the back seat." He smirked, as he pointed at me then turned and headed towards the stairs of our home.

Laughing, I climbed out of bed and started to get dressed. I knew that it was going to be a hot day today as the heat and humidity was already making itself known in the early morning sunlight. But what did one expect when you lived in Los Angeles?

Grabbing what most referred to as _Daisy Duke _shorts, and a tank top, I made my way to the bathroom where I did my normal morning routine. I got dressed, washed my face, brushed my teeth and ran a brush through my long black hair. My hair was very wavy, and that was something I loved about myself, that and my green eyes, that I got from my father. The last thing I had to do was slip on my sandals, and then I made a beeline for the stairs.

Bounding down the stairs, the rest of my family was already in the kitchen getting breakfast ready. My little sister, Mia and my twin Dominic were already sitting at the table, eating pancakes. Smiling, I sat down next to my baby sister as my father placed a fresh plate of pancakes down in front of me, "I want you and Mia to go to the store today." He said, before kissing me on the temple.

I frowned as I looked up at him, "Pops, it's the last race of the pro stock-care circuit." I challenged. Be damned if I was going to miss him winning the last race of the season. Both Dom and I have been at every single race this season, and I really didn't want to miss out on the last one, and truth be told I was getting angry over the fact that he wanted the store open today.

"I can open it myself, since Nicoletta wants to be at the race today." Mia suggested, before taking the last bite of her pancakes.

"Please?" I asked, batting my eyes up at my father. I've known since a young age, that if I batted my eyes at him, normally I could get what I wanted.

"Alright." My dad shook his head as he looked over at Dom who was smirking. "The race is in about three hours. Once you both are finished breakfast, we take the car to the track and give her a once over."

Both Dom and I nodded our heads, as we started to dig into our pancakes. All of us, save Mia were itching to get out to the track. Racing was something at ran in our blood like NOS. I understood that Mia wasn't interested in it but growing up in this house meant that she knew how to drive, and what makes an engine tick.

Once breakfast was finished, Mia and I started cleaning up the kitchen. She was doing the dishes as I was drying them and putting them away. It was kind of a family tradition – Dom and our father would do the cooking, and my sister and I would do the cleaning up. It wasn't that her and I didn't know how to cook, it was the opposite. We loved their cooking, thus we opted for doing the clean up.

As her and I were cleaning up, Dom and our father started to get ready for the race. Mia had just handed me the frying pan when she paused looking at me with worry etched on her face. My eyebrows knitted together as I gave her a questioning look.

She looked around before speaking to me in a hushed voice. "I got a bad feeling about the race."

I shook my head and went to drying the frying pan, "Don't be, Pops is gonna win this one hands down." I gave a soft laugh, as I tossed the dish towel over my shoulder and placed the frying pan in its rightful spot.

Mia shook her head as she continued cleaning one of the plates, "I don't know…" She was interrupted as the front door slammed shut.

"Yo!" I heard Vince's voice sound as he walked into the kitchen with Letty.

Vince and my twin brother met each other when the three of us were in the third grade. Needless to say, those two were practically brothers there after. As for Letty, well she moved to the neighbourhood when she was 10 years old, and we all quickly became best friends. That developed more when she turned 16 years old, and really caught my brother's attention. Now those two had this undeniable love, but at the same time my brother does have a wandering eye.

"How's my princess this morning?" Vince asked as he gave me a kiss on the cheek.

Automatically I rolled my eyes at him, as Letty just shook her head. "V you keep that up, and she's gonna leave tread marks on your face." She stated, as she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

Glancing over at Letty I gave her a soft smile. That woman knows me all to well. "Well, you both just missed breakfast." Mia stated, handing me the last plate to dry.

"It's alright, we're here to head to the track with Tony and Dom." Vince answered, as he went to the fridge to grab a drink.

"Speaking of which," Letty pushed herself off the wall, "Did you tune up ya ride?" She asked me.

I sighed and closed my eyes for a moment, "I was meaning to do that last night."

"Well it's going to have to wait." Dom stated as he came in the back door, "Time to get ready."

Laughing I placed the towel on the oven door handle and made my way to the back door, "Let do this!" I whooped as I bounded down the steps at the back door.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I want to thank _allycat909_ and _guest_ for their reviews. And also all the amazing readers that touched the first chapter. I wanted to give you the second chapter a little earlier than planned. It's the third chapter that is a little tricky to write, and you will see why when you get to the end of this chapter. I do hope that you enjoy the emotional rollercoaster that you have signed up for lolol. Please don't forget to review, I look forward to each and every one of them. If you have any questions feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them by the next chapter. Thank-you again.

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THAT AFTERNOON I HAD decided to ignore the August buildup of ozone, and humidity that caught me in the back of my throat. I had just dropped my baby sister, Mia off at the store and climbed into my Mazda RX-7, which I had restored from the ground up with the help of my family. The air conditioner was blasting flat out, as I was singing along with some CD that I had borrowed from Leon. With the windows open, my hair was whipping around my face in a frenzy of curls, my ever-vigilant green eyes were coolly hidden behind my Oakleys, and my foot rested heavy on the gas pedal as I whipped around the cars on the road.

It was Sunday, I had a date with the last race of the season and to see my father win. I had stopped for a red light and checked my rear-view mirror, swearing when I saw Lenny Gruber pulling up beside me in his Acura NSX. "Shit." I'd gone to high school with Gruber. He was a maggot then, and he was a maggot now. Unfortunately, he was a maggot with a cause, always trying to race me and see if I would open my legs if he won. You'd think with having a family like I do, and the type of attitude that we all carry, a maggot like Gruber would know better. But for some God forsaken reason, it just seemed to make him more determined.

"Hey sweet cheeks," Gruber said, full of joy and faux surprise. "What a treat."

I bit the inside of my cheek as I looked over at him, my sunglass slipped down my nose causing me to look over them. "What do you want?"

"How about in the next two lights, I win, you open those pretty legs of yours for me?"

I laughed, "You been sniffing NOS again?" I jested. "If you want ass, why don't you hit Hollywood Boulevard?"

Before he could answer the light changed to green. I did what just came naturally, I started off in first and smoked his ass, double clutched into season, as I looked in the rear-view mirror. The only thing I could give him credit for, is that he tried. But the maggot was granny-shifting and didn't have a clue on how to street race.

It didn't take me long to leave him far behind as I swerved in and around the cars that were on the street. And before I knew it, I had made the highway that lead to where the track was. As I shifted down, and rolled up to where my family was, I saw the shinny black paint on the '70 Dodge Charger RT that my father would be racing in.

As I cut the engine of my car, Leon and Jesse made their way up to me. I climbed out of my car and looked at Jesse, "She's still doin' it, Jesse. She's uploading in second." I said as Leon opened the hood of my car.

Jesse leaned over the passenger side fender of my car and looked at the engine. "I lengthened the injector pulse a millisecond. Just tune the NOS timer, you'll run nines."

I leaned over the diver's side fender and looked over at Jesse, "Guess what you're gonna be doin' when we're back at the shop, Mad Scientist." I smirked.

Jesse and Leon were good friends of ours, family would be a better term. They just showed up one day with Dom and me – and never left. Not that I would complain about it, we are all really close to one another, to be honest.

We all pulled away from the car when we heard the Charger's engine come to life. Leon kept his arm around my waist as we made our way towards my father and the rest of the family that had come out to see the race. I watched at Dom closed the hood of the Charger, "She's good." He stated as I smiled up at my father.

Leaving Leon's arm, I took a couple steps to my father and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a hug, "Good luck, Pops." I said, as I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Visualize the win, Tony." Leon smiled.

Letty who by this point was in Dom's arms gave my father a smile. "You got this."

As everyone gave their good lucks and praise, I couldn't help but have this gnawing feeling in the back of my brain, something wasn't right about this race. However, pushing that aside I knew that this was going to be amazing. After all, my father was going places in the pro stock-car circuit. And with the Charger pushing nine hundred horses, all of it Detroit muscle, nothing stood in his way.

Soon enough we made out way to the stands, where we had the best seats in the house. The weather was holding up, as the sun was now high in the sky, beating down on us and all the other by standers waiting for the race. The wind had died down into a slight breeze, which was refreshing since the humidity had climbed in the index.

We watched as the cars all started to do the practice rounds, warming up the tires and the engines for the big race. We had our front row seats, which I loved. The sound of the engines and the wind that rushed by as the cars passed our spot in the stands. The smell of the exhaust mixed with the rubber of the tires, just makes my heart pound in my chest, sending my adrenaline into over drive. This was my world and I wouldn't change it for anything.

I smiled as I saw Leon and Jesse, made their way back up to where we were on the stands. Leon smiled as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a kiss on the temple. "Thought you two got lost," I laugh, as I lean into Leon.

"Of course not, Princess." He jested, as he and Jesse handed out the Coronas they had gone back to get.

I roll my eyes at the nickname he gave me years ago; however, we all turn our attention to the track as the announcer stated that the race was about to start. It was hard to hide my excitement as the sound of the engines revving once again filled my ears, along with the sound of tires squealing as they rounded the first left hand turn of the lap.

Every lap the cars went around, I would cheer along with everyone one of my family members. Inching forward, we watched our father get closer and closer to the finish, to win. But as my excitement grew, that gnawing feeling of something bad grew into dread. It was working its way forward and into the pit of my stomach. I looked over at my family, all of them seemed oblivious to the feeling. I bit my lip as I felt my own anxiety start to build. Something was wrong about this. Something terrible was about to happen, and I just knew it.

As the race went on, my blood pounded in my ears. Not from the adrenaline of the race but from the dread that just continued to build inside of me. It was like I was about to watch something that I could not stop, that none of us could. That's when my heart started to thud in my chest harder, and my hands started to shake. I took a drink to the Corona I had, in hopes that it would help my nerves that seemed to have been set on fire.

That's when it seemed that things started to go into slow motion before my very eyes. A red '71 Chevelle Nova SS, that I knew to be driven by a guy named Kenny Linder, came up from the inside of the track on the final turn. I watched in fear as the Nova clipped my father's bumper. My breath seemed frozen in my chest as the sound of screeching tires and crunching metal filled the air. I dropped my Corona, as I watched my father hit the wall doing at least 120mph.

I felt like I was frozen in time. I couldn't move. I watched the fire and smoke start to engulfed the car. My vision started to disfigure, as if I was looking through a fish-eye lens. That's when I heard it, I could have sworn that I heard him scream just as the car fully exploded before my very eyes.

I was oblivious to the fact that my twin, and most of the family had jumped over the wall towards the horror that was before us.

My breath was clutched in my throat so hard that there was no way I could breathe as the tears welted in my eyes. Somehow, without knowing where I found the strength to break free of the hold my mind hand on my own body, I started to move towards the wall. I had to help them get my father out of that car.

As I screamed, "Pops!" A pair of arms grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to their chest. I fought to get out of their hold as I had to get to the car. That was the only thing that kept repeating in my mind.

"Nico! C'mon baby." I heard Leon's voice. It seemed like it was in the distance as I fought him to get towards the wall.

"No! Pops!" I cried out as I continued to fight, but my strength was leaving me as my vision continued to blur from the tears that were forming. The sense of doom continued to engulfed me as I knew, I knew in my gut what had happened.

"C'mon baby," Leon coaxed as he pulled me closer to his chest, turning me away from the scene. All sense of will gave up in me, as I felt myself get light headed and vile raise in my throat. I felt him wrap his arms tighter around me as he steered me away from the scene.

The sound of sirens filled the air as he took me away from the stands, and towards where our cars were parked. Before I knew it, we were at the cars, and I collapsed on the ground. Leon wrapped his arms around me and held me close as I cried. Running his hand up and down my back, the images of my father going into the wall, the fire and smoke filled my mind. This had to be a bad dream, it just had to be.

"Take deep breaths, baby." Leon choked. I could hear the tears in his voice, which only signified that this wasn't a dream, that this was real – all to real.


	3. Chapter 3

IT HAD BEEN A week since our father passed away suddenly. I had already done my morning routine and dressed in a black dress. My make-up was done simple and I wore my hair in loose curls around my shoulders. I was in the process of making sure that everything was ready for the hearse when it arrived at the house to load up the flowers that we had gotten for the funeral.

As I was walking into the kitchen to get myself a glass of water, I heard the phone ring. I turned and grabbed the receiver off the wall, "Hello?" I asked.

"Ms. Toretto?" I heard a male voice on the other line.

I nodded, "This I Nicoletta."

"This is Los Angeles Funeral Service. I'm calling to let you know that the flower van will be on its way in about two hours. As well as we've secured the certification on the death certificate and got the confirmation of the needed permits for the final disposition." The male said in a soft voice. "Everything is still scheduled for eleven, Ms. Toretto."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Thank-you." I answered and hung the phone up. Leaning against the wall, tears welted in my eyes. I looked up at the ceiling in hopes to stop them from falling down my cheeks. It wasn't that I didn't want to cry, essentially, I've cried a lot over the last week but mainly it was when I was alone. I had to be strong for my family, that was just who I am.

"Nico?" I heard my baby sister call me.

Sniffing back the tears, I ran my hand over my cheeks to ensure that they weren't wet. Taking a deep breath, I started my way towards the living room. "What's up Mia?" I asked, as I stepped into the living room.

Mia turned as Vince and Leon came in with more flowers. "These were dropped off by some friends of, Pops." She said as she bit her lip.

I nodded my head, "The flower van should be here soon to pick up the flowers." I answered as I sat down on the corner of the couch, taking a deep breath. "Everything else has already been arranged by the funeral home."

I watched as Dom came down and sat beside me, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. He leaned over and kissed my temple. Turning and looking between me and Mia I watched as he spoke softly. "We're gonna get through this. All of us."

I nodded my head, as Mia walked up to me and took my hand. "We're a family. We stick together."

Looking out at my brother and sister, and Jesse, Leon, Letty and Vince who were standing in the room with us I couldn't help but smile. We are a family, and with them we could accomplish anything together. It was just us now against the world and we were going to keep our head held high.

It wasn't long after that the flower van came and picked up all the flowers that had been delivered to us. Upon the men loading up the flowers, we filed into our vehicles to follow to the cemetery. Mia was riding with Vince, while Letty was with Dom. Jesse drove on his own, while I sat in the car with Leon.

As we were driving up to the cemetery, I couldn't help but feel that the weather was the exact opposite of my emotions. It was sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and a slight breeze as normal. I knew that this was the type of day that my father loved to work on cars outside. Or we'd be planning a cook out in the backyard, with family and friends. But here we were, heading to the cemetery to lay him in the ground.

I bit my lip, to try and keep my emotions in check. I turned my head to look at Leon as he reached out and took my hand in his. I knew that he was doing it to offer some comfort. He was always one who could almost sense my emotions and there to offer whatever comfort of support that I needed at the time.

Upon arriving at the cemetery, we parked our cars along the side of the road. Filing out of the cars, we noticed that there was a rather large turn out already forming for our father. It brought a swell to my heart to see just how many lives he had touched and how many people called him a friend.

Within minutes the graveside ceremony would be starting as the funeral director and other funeral attendants were setting up the flowers and handling the casket that was holding my father. Taking a breath, we made our way up to where they had placed the casket and the flowers arranged around it and on top of it. On top of the casket was a photo that we had chosen.

The photo was one of our father, sitting in the Charger after winning a race earlier this year. Walking up to it, I placed a photo next to the frame. That photo was one that I found when Mia and I were starting to clean out his room. In that photo was me and Dom about the age of five, Mia who was just a baby at the time and both our parents. I knew that it was taken just before our mother passed away.

"They say that we live on in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die." I said as I stepped back, in line with my family.

At this point I wasn't really paying attention to what the pastor was saying when it came to the final words and the final prayer. It was all sounding so far away as I just looked at the casket. There was still a part of me that couldn't believe that he was in there. But at the same time, I as standing there watching it all happen and felt so numb to it. And I had to admit that at this point, this was the closure that he was gone.

I reached out and took Mia's hand to give her some support as I saw the silent tears trickle down her cheek as they were setting up to lower the casket into the ground. I knew she needed me, and I was going to be there for her. As much as I knew she was a strong lady, this was hard on all of us.

By now, I noticed that the funeral was over, that we were the last ones to stay. Why, I'm not sure, other than to say our own goodbye the only way we know how. I watched as Dom walked up and spoke softly on behalf of all of us. That was just who my brother was.


	4. Chapter 4

IT WAS THREE DAYS after the funeral, that I was scheduled to go back to work. I was fortunate enough that I was able to work through my Nursing Manager to get bereavement pay for three days and another week of vacation pay to get through until I was back to work. And later this afternoon, was my first shift back in the Emergency Centre, at Sacred Heart Hospital. I had spent the years in university to become a Registered Nurse. It was my calling, and I loved the long hours and seeing the benefits my career choice had made for other lives.

As I woke up that afternoon, I knew that my family would be split between the garage and the shop. That was a taste of normalcy that I needed. I did my normal morning routine, with having a shower and getting ready for the day. But today was going to be slightly different as it was starting out with a mission that most of my family didn't know about. I was going to get our father's Charger back.

The Charger was something special in my family. I used to help my twin; Dom and our father while they built it. That was when I wasn't chased back into my studies for nursing. And as I got older, and had graduated and started working, I would help them on my days off – tweaking this and tweaking that. Then that grew into working on my own car on my days off. Fast cars were something that ran in our family's blood. And that was one of the reasons that I worked at the garage when I had the spare time.

And bringing our father's car back to the small garage at the end of our driveway was something that I knew that I had to do. It was something I knew that I had to bring back into our lives and that it would be something Dom would want. Hell, it was something that I wanted to do. To eventually restore it in our father's memory.

I had made all the appropriate phone calls to the towing company that had the Charger sitting in its yard. I agreed to the price of the storage and the towing and set up a time for the car to be delivered to the house. It wasn't too much of a fight, other than they kept saying it would have been easier to have it crushed. Which was not even something on my list of ideas for the car.

As I knew that it would be about an hour for the tow truck to be here with the Charger, I decided to grab a bite to eat. It wasn't long before I was finished with my bowl of cereal. Once I was finished it, I washed the bowl and spoon, then placed them back where they belonged. Seeing that it would be a little longer more before the tow truck would be here, I made my way to the garage.

My hands reached out to the handles on the wooden door of the garage. It would be the first time I have been in there since, my father passed away. I knew that my sister had placed a lot of his belongings in there that we didn't want to throw out. A sadness washed over me as I knew that she had been the one to clean out his bedroom, while Dom and I handled all the legality and funeral preparations of the tragedy.

The sound of a truck's backup alarm pulled me from my thoughts, I opened the door and turn around. A sad smile came to my lips as I watched the flatbed tow truck back up the long driveway of the house. The once shiny black gem of a Charger was now a hunk of chard twisted metal that sat tied down the tow deck of the truck. It was barely recognizable as a Charger. Its body was twisted, the windows were shattered out of it and the was nothing, but chard remains.

Sighing, I stepped to the driver's side to guide him back to where I wanted the car dropped. As soon as the truck came to a stop, the distinct whoosh of the air brakes was heard, as it kicked up a little dust that was sitting on the driveway. I watched as the driver hopped out of the truck and gave me a once over.

"What's your plans with this hunk of junk?" He asked as he put his work gloves on and made his way to the tie downs that were strapping the Charger down to the deck of the flatbed.

"Gonna rebuild it," I answered, as I went and started to loosen the ratchet of the tie down at the end of the car.

"From the frame up I assume," The tow truck driver responded as we took the last time down off the Charger and he went to the hydraulics. "So, where do ya want it?"

I stepped aside and pointed in the small garage. "In there, and the more center you can get her, the better." I ordered.

"Aye aye." He replied and started working the deck of the tow truck and the winch that was hooked to the frame of the car. The sound of the rims scratching on the deck sent chills down my spine.

I watched as he stopped and pulled out four plastic skids and started working the Charger into the garage. Truth be told, I was rather impressed as he got my father's car rather center in the small space. Once he unhooked the hook of the wench off the frame, he looked up at me and told me the price of the tow and the rest of the fees with the car being towed to their lot and the storage.

Thankful he gave me the same price as the dispatcher I spoke to at the towing company. Nodding my head, I pulled out a wad of cash out of my bra and started counting it out. "There you go, and a little extra as well for the good job you did." I stated and gave him a smile. I turned to the Charger and stared giving it a once over.

"How 'bout ya number?" He asked as he started to pull the deck back into place.

I had to admit that the tow truck driver was cocky. As I ran my hand over the chard fender of the car, I turned and gave him a smirk. "911."

The tow truck driver sighed and shook his head. "Got the hint." He muttered as he made his way back to his truck.

"Thanks for bringing the car here." I called out as he started to pull away.

Once the tow truck was out of sighed, I turned and looked at the car sitting in the garage. I knew that it was going to take a lot of parts and a lot of work for us to get her back up and running, not to mention the finer details of the interior and the body. As I walked in closer, the hint of smoke still clung to the car.

I pulled the garage door shut, as I knew that I had now just enough time to get changed into my scrubs and head to work. My first day back, I was hopping would be like riding a bike, as it didn't take me long to pull on a pair on black and blue scrubs, toss my hair up into a messy pony tail and grab my lanyard. Pulling on my Under Armour running shoes that were black and blue like my scrubs, I made my way to the door where I grabbed my keys for my car.

It didn't take too long to get to the hospital, where I signed in and started my shift. The Emergency Center was already packed with people waiting to get admitted and all the rooms were already full. That was one thing I loved about my job, was that it was always busy and kept me on my toes. A twelve hour shift always seemed to fly by.

"Nico," One of my college called out to me as I could hear the urgency in her voice, "We've got a trauma patient that is coming in by ambulance, I need you take care of it." She was the Charge Nurse on duty at the time and was an absolute sweetheart. Her name was Deborah and was in her mid to late 50s.

I nodded my head and handed my paperwork off to one of the License Practical Nurses. I wasn't sure what his name was as he was just hired within the time that I was gone, but he did seem like someone who was up for the challenges that working in the Emergency Center provided.

As I made my way to the entrance where the paramedics brought in trauma patients, I grabbed a pair of gloves, and looked over at the doctor. "Any idea what we have?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Someone to a wrench to this guy."

I sighed, "Great." I commented as the doors flung opened and the paramedics were wheeling the man in. "Name is Kenny Linder, age 32. Multiple hits to the face and chest area." The paramedic responded.

My breath was rushed out of me, and I looked down at the man. Instinct over rid my brain as I went to work. I knew this was the same man that put my father into the wall just little over a week ago, and worry rushed over me as I was pretty sure that it was my twin that did this to him.


	5. Chapter 5

TIME SEEMED TO BE non-existent as I rushed through my work. I started prepping Linder as I took the scissors from one of the Licensed Practical Nurses and started cutting Linder's shirt off of him. As soon as I had his shirt off, I started doing my examination. The first thing I noticed was that there were no bodily injuries, which meant that all the aggression that was displaced on to him was done to the face. I bit my lip as I followed suite.

"We're going to need x-rays." I stated as I looked up at the on-duty Doctor. I wasn't sure what his name was, as he was new. What I did know about him was that he shipped here from another hospital in California and held a lot of respect from the other nurses. Apparently, he started here while I was on leave.

He turned and nodded at me. "Stat." He replied and turned to the other Registered Nurse, "Get on it." He added.

I turned and grabbed the IV that she was about to start, "I'll take over." I answered and started prepping to place the IV into Linder's left hand. Once that was done, I went over and started placing the rest of the lines that needed.

It didn't take me long to have the vitals up on the monitor as I went over and started checking them. He was stable enough, but not out of the clear. I turned back to the Doctor as he rattled off a list of medications that he wanted for Linder, that was when the Licensed nurse went to grab them. I picked up the chart and started filling out the medication that the Doctor had listed off and everything else that was going on with his stats.

It was apparent that Linder was going to be in for the long haul. But my attention was turned when I heard a lady screaming in pain as she was wheeled into the centre. "Toretto, I need you!" My charge nurse yelled.

I passed the chart off to the other Registered nurse that was in Linder's room and made my way towards the charge nurse. "Deb, what's up?" I asked, brow knitted together.

"Go with Hatchwell," She stated. Hatchwell was one of the on-duty Doctors that I had worked with since I started at Sacred Heart. He was an older man, with graying hair, and it was obvious that medical was his calling, as he treated each patient like they were his only.

I jogged up to Hatchwell who was with one of the Licensed nurses. That was when I noticed that the lady who was cursing and screaming was actually in labour. "We're about to have a baby." Hatchwell smiled at me.

Nodding my head, we made our way into one of the screened off rooms of the Emergency. "How far apart are the contractions?" I asked as I grabbed one of the gowns and putting it on.

"Apart?!" The lady screamed.

Putting on a mask and grabbing a pair of gloves, I gave a soft laugh as I looked at Hatchwell, "Full labour."

"Full labour." He repeated back as the two Listened nurses helped the lady on to the bed.

Within a half hour, Hatchwell and I delivered a beautiful little girl. I had helped the young lady and baby up to the maternity ward and handed them off to the charge nurse there. As I stepped back on the elevator and pushed the ground level where the Emergency Centre was, I leaned against the wall. A smile crested my lips as I sighed. This was where I belonged, no matter how exhausting I felt at this moment. Being a nurse is my passion, it is something that I believe I am amazingly good at, well that and the fact that I know how to drive a car and fix it. But that came from being part of my family.

As the elevator dinged, signalling that I had reached the main floor, the doors slid open. I made my way towards the Emergency Centre, but once I swiped my badge and entered, that was when my brow knitted together. It wasn't the atmosphere of the centre that caught my attention – it was controlled chaos as normal.

At the nursing station, was where I noticed that someone was standing there looking totally out of place. I knew exactly who it was just by looking at the back of their head. But it was his body language that caught my attention, and I knew that there was something wrong. That just reconfirmed my suspicions of the innocence that happened earlier in my shift with Linder.

I started my way towards the nursing station when one of my colleagues made their way up to me. She was a Registered Nurse, but still in her practicum. "Nico, there is someone at the nurses station looking for you." She said looking at me slightly confused.

Giving her a smile, I nodded my head. "Don't worry about it, Amy. He's family." She shook her head, almost like she was surprised at who I called my family. "I think room four needs a check up." I stated, giving her, her leave. Which she took, gratefully.

With that, I made my way through the crowded hall towards the nurse's station. That was when Leon turned and gave me a slight smile, but it never reached it his eyes. It wasn't unusual for one of my family members to show up at the end of my shift, but my shift wasn't over yet and he wasn't holding a cup of coffee for me. So, that just reconfirmed my suspicion. But I swallowed my anxiety that was fluttering in my stomach. "Hey Le, what's up?" I asked, trying to sound positive.

The look he gave me just build the anxiety further. It wasn't a look that I could really place on him. But I knew something was up when he placed his arm around me and started steering me away from prying ears. As we came to a relatively empty hallway that lead to the elevators, he turned and looked at me. "Princess, I don't know how to tell you this." He said softly, his head hung low. It was apparent that he didn't want to make eye contact with me.

My head tilted to the side and I tried to look into his eyes, "It's Dom isn't it?" I asked, fighting the tears in my eyes. I knew the moment that Linder came in, that it had something to do with my twin. I couldn't lose him too. But I had to be strong, so I swallowed the tears, just like I did my anxiety.

Leon nodded his head. "It is." He reached out and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "He's in jail right now."

I bit my lip and nodded my head. "I figured, when Linder came in. Leon, what happened?" I asked, as I crossed my arms over my chest, and took a deep breath.

That was when Leon released my shoulder and started to pace back and forth in front of me. For someone who just showed up in my life one day, he because a pretty important part of it. Leon and I just clicked and could read one another a lot of the time without words really being said. Right now, I could tell that he was searching for a way to tell me what happened and was still processing it at the same time. I knew that I had to give him time to find the words, I wasn't about to try and press it out of him what happened.

Finally, he stopped and looked at me. There was a sadness in his eyes, and it just made me worry more. We had been through so much over the last week, and this was just adding to it. "Linder came in, I guess to say sorry and the next thing I knew Dom was on top of him pounding Linder into the ground. He had a wrench in his hand, Nic."

I could just see it all happening in my mind. I knew that Dom had one hell of a temper and couldn't always control it. And knowing that Linder came into the shop would be the straw that broke the camel's back. Even if Linder had the best of intentions. Knowing Dom, he more than likely only meant to hit Linder once, but when he started there was no way he was going to stop. Not until he couldn't more his arms any more. And that was just what happened. Seeing Linder come in like he did, confirmed it.

Sighing I uncrossed my arms as I looked around. "Where is everyone else?"

Leon shrugged. "Don't know. I came here as soon as I could."

A sad smile came to my face, but I nodded my head. It was one thing that I noticed about Leon, was that when something happened or was about to go down, he always came to me to let me know what was happening. I had to admit, he was my rock through the last week or so, and I would be forever thankful for that. "Thank you," I said in just above a whisper.

That was when he pulled me into a hug and a few stray tears made their way down my cheeks. It was starting to feel like the world was coming down on my shoulders now. First it was my father passing suddenly before my eyes, and now my twin's future was up in the air. Somehow, I had to keep my family together and keep us going. I knew that I had to find the strength and be there for them.

Leon ran his hand through my hair as he whispered in my ear, "We'll figure this out."

* * *

**A/N:** Hey loves, I wanted to post a day early just in case I'm unable to post tomorrow. Have a lot going on, which I'm sure you don't want to hear lolol. Anywho, I hope that you are enjoying this so far. I'll be honest, I've had a couple writers block with this one as I wanted to make sure that the time line stayed correct, which is hard considering it's just a short blurb that Dom said to Brian about the past (which I think I can quote now, that I have watched that scene so many times). And I also wanted to shout out to Guest and allycat909 for the reviews that you have posted. If it's one thing that I really enjoy is reviews, thank-you.


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